Beneath The Cries
by EvenstarRoses
Summary: A brief story of what it was like for the women and children beneath the cries of the battle of Helm's deep relying on Eowyn for hope and guidance in their time of strife while she struggled with her own fears and doubts. One shot. *Disclaimer, I do not own Lord of the Rings*


Eowyn's eyes welled with tears as Aragorn turned and walked away from her. She feared she would never see the man she loved ever again. She watched him disappear into the throngs of people bustling about readying Helm's Deep for the encroaching armies of Isengard.

"Lady Eowyn, they need you in the caves now," said a soldier.

She looked at him, his young face beneath the helmet. He could be no more that sixteen or seventeen. She wished she could switch places with him but instead she bowed her head and thanked him.

Casting a look over her shoulder hoping for a glimpse of the ranger she saw nothing and turned away en route for the caves beneath the keep.

People were being filed down into the dark. Guards ushered them forward ordering them to move faster and not to toil about.

Eowyn was the last inside. It was the first time she'd seen these walls. Torches, sparingly placed along the rock walls dimly lit the cavern. The dampness made the made the air heavy. Eowyn stood before the gate the guards were closing. The clang of metal and the turning of gears made her flinch.

She held onto the bars, her slender fingers pale against their grey steel. How she longed to be standing on the wall beside Aragorn and her uncle. What if she never saw them again?

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With help; Eowyn was able to divvy up the food into rations that would last those in the caves at least three days. If the battle were to last any longer she wouldn't know what she'd do for her people.

The people seemed to be coping with the situation. They believed Helm's Deep to be a place of sanctuary where nothing could harm them. They trusted their King, in light of recent events. Aragorn feared coming here though; she had yet to understand why.

The gears turned and the gate unlatched. Eowyn stood erect and raised her chin as a woman of court should do when present with any men of a noble status.

Two guards of her uncle came through the gate and bowed before her.

"Is there trouble? Why have you returned?" asked Eowyn.

The guard's face was quite solemn, "By order of the king," his voice echoed off the walls, "all able bodied men are called to fight!"

Eowyn was taken aback, "You cannot pull children from their mothers!" she whispered harshly.

He shook his head, "I'm sorry milady, King's orders," he bowed and began rounding up men and children able to take arms.

The sound of mother's tears and cries of protests filled the cavernous space. Eowyn wanted to run, to scream, it was this cage. This cage that would drive her to madness.

The gate shut once more with a deafening thud, Eowyn cringed at the sight of it.

Mothers' clung to her, looking to their lady to give them peace of mind. She wondered how she could offer solace when she couldn't find any herself. However she was a woman of Rohan, strong of heart and mind so she put on a brave visage and faced their sorrows.

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The women and children huddled together in the furthest part of the caves. Eowyn paced as the battle raged on overhead. The pounding of boot clad feet, screaming, and the raging storm made the earth shake, loosing stones and raining dust upon them from above.

Eowyn desperately tried not to think of the destruction that would be left behind: bodies of our men, the grounds stained black and red with blood, ruin and rubble.

A loud crash shook the earth evoking cries of anguish from several women.

"They're breaking in!" cried a woman as she threw her arms around Eowyn,

She had never heard or experienced anything like the quaking and rumbling of the earth that just happened. Women hugged their children to their breast, sobbing into their children as they cradled them.

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After what felt like an eternity the noise from above seemed to have stopped. Was the carnage over? She wondered listening closely for any sign. The roaring of the uruk hai were no longer heard. The caves were silent, anxiously awaiting notice of the battle's end.

Eowyn's heart raced and her hands shook. So many thoughts and questions raced inside her mind.

Down the passage leading to the gate heavy footfalls ran. For a moment she tensed fearing the worst but then two men, run ragged and bloodied were at the gate.

"It is over," one said after catching his breath, "we have secured Helm's Deep once more."

Those in the caves all seemed to let out a sigh of relief at once. A combination of liberation and fear fell over the crowds, although the battle was over it was now a matter of whose loved ones would return and whose worlds would be forever changed.

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Though the worst was over Eowyn was now busy as ever, running baskets of food, fetching medical supplies for the injured, it never stopped. She hadn't yet seen her uncle or Aragorn and was beginning to worry when she didn't see their faces among the injured.

The crash that shook the earth so violently had been an explosion, one caused by Saruman's black magic. Eowyn couldn't believe the fortress deemed impenetrable had been passed through.

She offered a bowl of stew to a man, naught but twenty with a broken arm and a nasty cut above his eye. He gladly accepted it. When she turned to leave she froze in place, her heart nearly stopped.

Before her stood Aragorn, covered in dirt, cuts, and bruises yet smiling. She tried to form words but found none to describe how she felt. Cupping his face in her hands she laughed and threw her arms around him.

"I'm so glad you're safe, I was afraid you wouldn't-"

Aragorn stopped her, "I'm here and I'm alright. Together this fortress has been saved once more."

Her thin brow furrowed, "Together? It was you and my uncle's lead by which our people still stand tall. I didn't fight."

"But you did," began Aragorn, "You fought the hopelessness and despair of war, fought your own fears for the sake of your people. You do not need to prove yourself in battle for me or anyone else to know your strength; you emanate it in everything you do."

Eowyn was stunned, although she still desired to fight for her people as a warrior she now understood she wasn't as impractical as she once thought, she was the shiledmaiden of Rohan, warrior of heart, body, and soul.


End file.
